Fire-ladder



(No Model. 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

L. HARRIS.

FIRE LADDER. N0. 401,433. Patented Apr. 16, 1889.

Fig.1

' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. L. HARRIS.

FIRE LADDER.

(No Model.)

Patented Apr. 16, 1889.

N4 PETERS. Phclo-Lhhognbhcr, wa'shlngwn, n. c

" ATENT Fries.

IIEVI HARRIS, OF KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN.

FIRE-LADDER.

SPEGIFICATION' formingpart of Letters Patent No. 401,433, dated April16, 1889.

Application filed December 6, 1887. $eria1No. 257,125. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LEVI HARRIS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Kalamazoo, county of Kalamazoo, State of Michigan, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire Ladders and Trucks.of which the following is a specification. I

This invention relates to an invention patented to me in the UnitedStates May 17, 1887, No. 363,066, in which the base of the ladderforward of its fulcrum was provided with weights, which weights, inconjunction with an arrangement of a lever and screw, were employed toassist in raising the ladder from the truck.

The object of the present invention is to dispense with the weights byan arrangement of springs and certain accessories clearly describedbelow.

A further object is to make certain improvements in the tiller, andstill a further object is to combine with the laddersupportlng truck achemical-engine, all substantially in the manner below described andclaimed. In general the object sought in regard to the springs is to soassociate the latter in a rela tion with the base of the ladder, whichis beyond the fa lcrun1,'tliat they will assist in raising the ladder.

In the drawings forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a sideelevation; Fig. 2, an enlarged view of parts in Fig. 1 above the forwardend of the truck; Fig. 3, plan of parts in Fig. 2; Fig. 4., a viewlooking from a point at the right of Fig. 2; Fig. 5, plan of Fig. 1enlarged, the forward end of the truck being broken away and the ladderand its supports removed; Fig. 6, enlarged view of Fig. 1, looking froma point at the right, parts being in section on line 1 1 in Fig. 1; Fig.7, a view looking from a point at the left of Fig. 8; and Fig. 8 is anenlarged view of parts of the tiller, looking from a point below Fig. 5and from a point at the right of Fig. 7.

Referring to the lettered parts of the drawings, the ladders B y, therotatable pillar A, to which the ladder B is fulcrumed at its base, saidpillar being mounted upon the forward end of the truck I, the bracketsP, the pivoted lifting-lever C, and the screw (7, attached to the lowerend of said lever beyond the pivot or fulcrum of said lever, are allsubstantially as shown and claimed in the Patent No. 363,066, abovereferred to. For a complete description of the lever C, screw (I, andtheir mode of operation in raising the ladder B reference should be hadto said patent. However, as the springs described farther on are notlimited in their use to this particular lever and screw, this is notmaterial, and for a sufficient understanding I will state that the screwcl has screw-bearings in the end of the bracket P, or rather in across-piece that is attached, Fig. 1, to the rear end of each bracket,(there being a bracket P on each side of the truck,) and when the screwis run to the rearward the upper end of the lever O rises, and theladder B is raised with it.

In the patent above referred to the extended ends a of the ladder Bbeyond the fulcrum of said ladder are weighted to assist the lever andscrew in raising the ladder. In the present instance I employ thefollowing features in lieu of said weights:

To the side of the pillar is attached a bar, S, projecting laterallyfrom said pillar on opposite sides, Fig. 4. On each end of this bar Sare projections 2 2, elbow in form. A spring, 6, Figs. 2, 3, and i, issupported by the horizontal part of said elbow projections 2- one oneach, as here shown; but it will appear obvious that one spring, or morethan two, may be employed in like relation with the ladder, as hereshown.

0 a is a lever provided with an angled end, 00. The part a looselyslides in part 0, Figs. 1, 2, and 3. One end of this lever is pivoted tothe end extension, 21 of the ladder B, and the other end is pivoted at 5to the end of the horizontal part of the elbow 2. The object of havingone part of the lever c a slide into or by the other is, that it maylengthen and shorten when the ladder B is raised and lowered. Thesprings e exert a downward purchase on the lovers 0 a, one end of saidsprings being attached to the bar S and the other end to the angled endsof said lever, Fig. 4. Thus when the screw (1 is turned to raise theladder B the springs c and their levers c a assist.

It will of course be understood that there is a lever c a on each sideof the base of the ladder as indicated in Fig. 4, when there are twosprings employedone on each sideso as to obtain a like leverage on bothsides of the ladder.

On the rear part of the truck I, I mount an ordinary chemical-enginecomposed of the revoluble cylinders D, (two preferred, but a greater orless number may be employed,) and of course in the manufacturedapparatus the hose 6 and other well known accessories. (Not here shown.)

Of course the chemical-engine per se is not new; but, so far as I amaware, I am the first to combine such an engine with a truck and afire-ladder fulcrumed to a support on said truck. The advantages of thisare obvious, two important ones of which may be named. No extra truckand team are needed for the chemicalengine, and, as it frequentlyhappens that a ladder of this class, which can be quickly elevated togreat heights, and a chemical-en gine are all that is needed toextinguish the fire, the same can be accomplished by the men running upthe ladder with the hose of the chemical-engine on the ladder-truckbefore a separate engine could be available or the water-hose be readyfor use, thus making it unnecessary to use water, which a few momentsdelay might make imperative.

There are many ways in which the cylinders D may be supported in arevoluble manner on the truck. A simple and effectual plan is shown inFigs. 1 and 6. The rear portion of the truck has a bracket or frame, E,on each side. A transverse bar, 7, is attached to the rear end of thesebrackets, and a like bar at the forward end. Fig. 4 shows the rear bar.The forward bar (not shown) is the same asthis bar 7. The ends of thecylinders have axial bearings in these bars 7, so that the cylinders canbe revolved for the wellknown purpose of agitating the chemical contentsof said cylinders.

One or more transverse bars, 8, are attached to the brackets E above thecylinders D, and the rear portion of the ladder in its down position issupported by said bar 8. Thus the brackets E, with their bars 7 8,(which bars also brace the brackets) perform a double office-viz., theysupport both the ladder and the cylinders. This part of the apparatus isvery simple and useful, and the brackets serve as an additionalornamentation to the truck. NVhile it is a fact that tillers onladder-trucks are well known and in common use, I have, so far as Iknow, effected simple and useful improvements in the same.

In Figs. 1, 5, 7, and 8, F is a strong support transversely to thetruck-body and attached at the ends to the sides of said body. Mountedupon this support F is a hollow standard, T, in which the vertical shaftor pintle of the tiller-wheel b is placed, so as to be turned therein ineither direction in the act of deflecting the rear axle of the truck inguiding the latter. A forked lever, v, is shown in Fig.

5, one branch of said lever being attached to one end of the rear axleand the other branch to the other end of said axle. A vibratory arm, f,is attached (at one end) to the lower end of the shaft of thetiller-wheel b, Fig. 8, and the other end of said arm is pivoted to thesliding collar 9 on the lever v. \Vhen the tiller-wheel and its verticalshaft are turned, the arm f swings laterally, carrying the free end ofthe lever a; with it, and this deflects the axle, as shown by the dottedposit-ions of the axle, leverv, and arm f in Fig. 5. the collar 9 ofcourse slides on the lever n. An elbow-lever, 1, having a lateral turnat the lower end upon which to place the feet, is pivoted at the angleof the elbow to the standard T. A dog, 1-, is pivoted to the rear end ofthe lever 25, and said dog is held up to engage a niche in thetiller-wheel b, Fig. 7, forthepurpose of locking the tiller in itsnormalposition when the truck is going in a straight course for anyconsiderable distance. The operator disengages the dog from thetillerwheel by tilting the lever 25 with his foot. Two

of these levers t are here shown-one on each side of the standardandthey converge near to each other at the upper rear end, between whichends the dog is pivoted; but a single lever will serve, and, ifpreferred, the levers and spring-actuated dog may be dispensed withentirely and the operator hold the tiller in its normal posit-ion whengoing straight ahead.

Having thus described my invention, whatI claim as new is 1. Incombination, a ladder-support, a ladder fulcrumed at its base to saidsupport and having the end extensions beyond said fulcrum, and springsexerting a downward leverage on said end extensions to assist in raisingthe ladder, substantially as set forth. I

2. In combination, a ladder-support, a lad-' der fulcrumed at its baseto said support and having the end extensions, a two-part lever havingthe angled end, one part sliding within the other, said lever at theangled end having a pivotal support, the other end being pivoted to theend extension of the ladder, and a spring attached to the angled end ofsaid lever and exerting a downward leverage on the lever to assist inraising the ladder, substantially as set forth.

3. In combination, a ladder-support, a ladder fulcrumed to said supportand having the end extensions beyond' the fulcrum, a pivotedlifting-lever, a screw for operating said lever, and a spring or springsexerting a downward leverage on the end extensions of the ladder toassist the lifting-lever and screw in raising the ladder, substantiallyas set forth.

4:. In combination, a ladder-support, a lad der fulcrumed to saidsupport at its base and having the end extensions beyond the fulcrum, alifting-lever pivoted to a support, a screw for operating said lever,levers made in two parts, one part sliding within the other During thisaction and having the angled ends, said ends pivoted to a support, theother ends being pivoted to the end extensions of the ladder, and thesprings exerting a downward leverage on said extensions to assist thelifting-lever and screws in raising the ladder, substantially as setforth.

5. In combination, a truck having the revoluble pillar mounted thereon,a ladder having the end extensions and being pivoted to said pillar backof said extensions, a transverse bar attached to said pillar andprovided with an elbow end each side of the pillar, levers capable oflengthening and shortening and being pivoted at one end to the elbowendsof said bar and having the angled ends, the other end of these leversbeing pivoted to the end extensions of theladder, and the springsattached to the angled ends of the two-part levers and to the elbow endsof the transverse bar, said springs and their levers exerting a downwardleverage on the end extensions of the ladder to assist in raising saidladder, substantially as set forth.

6. In a tiller for a truck, the combination of the tiller-Wheel, apivoted foot-lever, and a spring-actuated dog pivoted to said lever inposition to engage the tiller-Wheel and lock the tiller in its normalposition, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination of the truck-body, the transverse support, the hollowstandard mounted upon said support, the tiller-wheel and its verticalshaft, the latter being revoluble in said support, the vibratory armattached to the wheel-shaft, the forked lever, a sliding collar thereon,to which collar the end of the vibratory lever is pivoted, and theWheeled axle to which the forked lever is attached, substantially as setforth.

In testimony of the foregoing I have hereunto snbscribed my name inpresence of two Witnesses.

. LEVI HARRIS.

Witnesses:

HAMPDEN KELsEY, E. A. BALYEAT.

